Structural insert



Aug. 14, 1934.

H. E. EICHNER STRUCTURAL INSERT Filed Jan. 23. 193?. 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1934- H. E. EICHNER 69,879

STRUCTURAL INSERT Filed Jan. 23. 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 14, 1934 UNITED STATES fP ArE rol-"Ficr;

The present invention relates to building struc-- ture that includes a masonry wall, floors etc. of precast or premolded building blocks andadjacent structure of wood or the like fastened to the mason work, the building blocks usually comprising commercial units of concrete, gyp sum or other composition, and the present invention may be considered to some extent a continuation of the subject matter of the applicant's U. S. Patent No. 1,798,197, entitled Structural member.

A purpose of the invention is to provide commercial masonry units of the character indicated with an adaptation to receive and strongly hold nails, screws or the like from adjacent structure.

A further purpose is to cast a preferably fireproof and preferably all-metal nail-holding unit in a commercial block of the character indicated.

A further purpose is to provide precast commercial blocks of the character indicated with one or more nail-holding inserts from one or more of the side surfaces thereof and located for best registry with the different usual structural'members that are normally to be fastened to a masonry wall adapted to be formed of the blocks.

A further purpose is to cast nail-holding inserts in'blocks of the character indicated, locating the inserts to permit an easy nailing of furring strips, corner beading, nailing blocks and the like to walls built of the blocks as well as an easy anchoring of veneer brickwork or the like tothe wall.

Afurther purpose is to provide a block of the character indicated with a nail-holding insert adjacent one or more of the corners or/and at an intermediate portion of one or more of the side surfaces of the .block.

A further purpose is to provide one or more of the side surfaces of a block ofthe character indicated with a diagonal strip portion along which it is adapted to receive and hold nails orthe like.

Further purposes will appear in the specification and in the claims.

-Figures l and 2 are fragmentary perspective views of different partially constructed walls that include block units made in accord with myinvention, the views illustrating'some of the many ways of applying the invention.

Figure 3 is an enlarged scale'perspective view of a precast building block or unit embodying optionally variant detail features of the invention.

Figure 4 is a vertical section toenlarged scale taken upon the line 4-4 of Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken upon the line 5-5-5 of Figure 4.

Figures 6 and 7 are enlarged scale perspective views generally similar to Figure 3 but illustrating somewhat different placements of my nail-holding inserts.

Figure 8 is a perspective view showing one form of the all-metalnail-holding inserts that are intended-to be shown conventionally in the blocks of Figures 3, 6 and '7 as any inserts adapted to;embody the invention.

Figure 9 is a perspective view showing a differ-- ent and very excellent form of all-metal'nailholding insert,or nailing pad, the structure being optionally in section like that of a structural member, disclosed and claimed in the applicants patent above referred to. v

Figure 10 is a fragmentary side view of a nailing pad of the form of Figure 9, with the outer plate removed to show one of the inner and de- 7 formed sheets.

' Figure 11' is a section taken upon the line 11-11 of Figure 10'. I

Figure 12 is a perspective view of another form of insert, that advantageously differs from that of Figure 9 in omitting portions highly desirable in the structural member of the patent but not needed in an insert for a building block.

' Figures 13 and 14 are elevations of illustrative insert blocks which may be used.

Figure15 is a transverse section of another form ofinsert;

Like numerals refer to like parts in all figures.

Describing in illustration and not in limitation and referring to the drawings:-

In the past, structural members of wood or the like, adjacent masonry walls of precast or molded building blocks havebeen nailed to the masonry wall by means of blocksor expansion bolts inserted at intermediate blocks of the wall or have been nailed directly to the blocks or even to mortar or cement intermediate the blocks;

The insertion of inserts intermediate the blocks, and the nailing to mortar or cement intermediate the blocks have both proven unsatisfactory and as a result, the blocks have been made of material selected for an adaptationto take andhold nails, rather than for strength. This has to. a considerable extent limited the use ofprecast blocks to outlying, districts in that the requirement that the blocks shall be adapted to take and hold nails has resulted in blocks of insuflicient strength-for use in city buildings.

The'molded blocks of a wall made in accord with; my invention need not all include the nailing inserts, the inserts being most desirably located merely wherever it may be desirable to nail to the wall, so that whether or not any individual block should include one or more nailing inserts will usually depend upon the location of theblock in the masonry wall with respect to adjacent structure to be nailed to the wall, and will also depend upon the character of the adjacent structure; to be nailed tothe-masonry structure and also upon the dimensions of therblocks.

It will be understood that the precast blocks may vary widely with respect to dimensions, hollow spaces and molding material and the gile lustrated blocks are intended for a conventional showing of any blockssuited to the invention:

In Figure 1 the walls'16 and 16'- may be consid. ered as respectively an outside and an inside wall.

Usually an outside wall will receivefurring strips 17 upon the inside so that a plaster portion 18, of the wall may be spaced inwardly from the mason block structure in order to pro vide an airspace to prevent inward travel of dampness through thewall.

The wall includes in Figure 1 a, masonry portion made upof precast blocks 19. In registry with the location of the furring strips 17:1 provide'blocks that present outwardly directed nailing pads 20 well adapted to receive the nails from thefurring strips. Adjacent the door structure at21 I show blocks carrying inserts generically indicated at 20 to receive nails from the framework of the door. Likewise at the window 22 the blocks 19 carry corner inserts20 to receive the nails fromthe frame of the window. a

Where the spacing yielded; by the furring strips is not desirable because there is no need of .pro-

tection against moisture theplaster is applied directly to the building blocks but some means of attachment is still needed where a base-board for example, is to be applied. For this purpose short nailing blocks such as are shown at ;23 in F ure may b us d com a -in; thickness with the thickness of ,the plaster and fastened to the inserts 20 as by nails 24. j 7

The base-board is then faste ed to these nailing blockspinany suitable. manneras by'nails 25.1 :In Figure 2 the view of. the wall toward theobserver is an outsidelwall as distinguished from an inside wall inFigure 1. The outsidewall is shown as faced with brick and the brick-wall may beanchored by-any suitable fastening which engage in the nailable inserts 20 :the b1QCkS. 1 The brick Wallis constructed to; a point where one of the. faces or ends of the brick crosses the insert and theanchor is thenput inafter which the laying ofgt-he brick is contin ed to encasethe anchorwithin the wall. V In theory the insert may be located. anywhere within the block so "that-its: face is available from the outside face of the block. The location offthe insert should correspond with the convenience of the operator in placing the adjoining structure. '-1

For some purposes it will obviously bemore convenient to havexthe inserts in or .near the middle of the face whereas in other locations it. should be located partly in oneface of the block and partly in another, as for example'partly in what is intended to be the outsid'ewall face and partly in an end, top tor bottomvwall face adjdining x Where the'inserts have greater length'than widthof exposureeis is of course ordinarily most desirable- -the longer dimensionmay extend in horizontal also.

There is an advantage in putting an insert extent vertically and also a greater extent horizontally than would be true of a straight insert asdistinguished from a diagonal insert, making it suitable attachment throughout a wider range of dist"ance both with horizontally arranged and ,With vertically arranged attached structure.

This is well illustrated in Figure 2 where the diagonalinserts have a longer vertical range of attachment than the thickness ofthe brick, in-

. suring. opportunity for location of. an anchor at each insert.

Itisof course-convenient to space the inserts in agreement with the spacing of the attachments which are. to be held by them. I This may be done, automatically by the separation of the inserts to distances corresponding with the lengths; widths and thicknesses of the blocks but may be specially designed and secured by predeterminedspacing of inserts within the blocks themselves to correspond with lengths of brick or strong line separation, etc.

At. the outer corner 26, Figure 2 and in other like locations it is common'to apply a metal corner bead which must be attached to the adjoining wall.

- The location of the inserts 2'3 at the corners of the blocksmakes'it possible for this pad to be nailed to both faces of the block at the corner. I In Figures 3, 6 and 7 blocks are shown which are intended to be of standard'type' and are herein treated as conventional blocks inasmuch as my invention can beapplied'to any form' of block, whatever-the shape or type" of material of which'th'e block is made.

The insert provides a decidedly better nailing surface even-for 'a'block which already is capable" of receiving-a nail-though. poorly-such as a cinder'block; though it finds greater utility in making a block of hard material incapable of receiving a; nail otherwise'a'vailable for nailing purposes. It'isintended to apply to all kinds of molded blocks regardless of their material and regardless of their type, as examples only of different materials from which the block may be made, and all of them incapable of receiving nails otherwise. Thave illustrated a concrete block in- Figure 3, a plaster block in Figure 6 and a terra cotta or hollow tile block in Figure '7. V

The showing of all of theseblocksas hollow does not however mean that this has any part specially in my invention as .my inserts will serve aswell in a completely solid block or tile as in a hollow block or tile. Nor does the purpose for which the block or tile is used affect the value-of. the invention where outside structure is to be nailed or anchored to it. The character ofuse is widely divergent as my invention is applicable not only to what are known as building blocks but-to such molded-shapes for example as areused for-chimney construction, in

in diagonally in that it stretches over a greater I vertical placement and for conduit use in horizontal placement.

The location of the insert within the individual block will depend upon the dimensions and the intended use of the block and the character of insert will be suited, of course, not only to the range of nail surface desired but to the strength of nail retention and the sizes of nails intended to be used. For light work the wooden blocks of Figure 13 may be quite acceptable whereas for more difiicult retention the fiber form of Figure 14 or one of the metal forms might be necessary, or at least much desirable. All of the metal forms have the advantage of resistance against fire injury to a much greater extent than the forms of Figures 13 and 14.

One form of insert is shown in Figure 8 in which corrugated walls 27 are reversely bent at 28 to form a casing having corrugations extending in one direction and similarly corrugated walls 29 are placed between the casing walls and with the corrugations extending in opposite directions. The flanges 30 limit movement of the insert within the block as the insert is being placed.

One objection to the form of Figure 8 lies in the fact that the material of the block is free to enter the spaces 31 of the outer wall corrugations, preventing use of these spaces for nail reception and reducing the resilience of the rest of the corrugated structure. This is corrected in the insert of Figure 7 in which outer plane plates 32 cover the corrugations of the sheet material 27 protecting against engagement of the material of the block with the corrugated surfaces.

In Figure 9 an insert is shown having flanges 30 and 30' and plates at opposite ends suited to extend through a thin block and receive nails from either surface 33 or surface 34. Its filling material may be of any suitable form like those illustrated or different from them. The different inserts shown are not intended to form a complete disclosure of the different types which can be used, but are intended as illustrative only to show that a wide variety can be used acceptably, depending upon the conditions met and the preference of the designer.

In Figures 10 and 11 one outer wall 35 only is shown and a single flange 30 permitting the depression of the insert within the block before it is solidified and limiting the distance of introduction of the insert by the flange. The filling material here comprised deformed plates 36 having oppositely projecting prongs 3'7 and spaced plate from plate by sheets 38 to prevent the deformed plates from being compressed too solidly together to give the needed resilience. Any number of these deformed plates can be used before the next outside wall 35 is placed.

As will be seen the forms of Figures 8, 9 and 11 are suitable for use with nail insertion from either of two directions within parallel planes, as illustrated by the nail insertions at 39 and 40 in Figure 9.

The form of Figure 12 corresponds with what is shown of the filling in Figure 11, i. e. using two deformed sheets or plates, but uses a different outer casing at 41 similar to that of Figure 9 except that as in the corrugated outer casing of Figure 8 it is reversely bent at 42. This form also is slightly flanged at 43 and 44 and is desirably made of spring metal so that its spring may be effective additionally to the spring of the deformation of the plates 36 to hold the con tent within the outer casing and so far as there may be outward movement permitted by the material of the block to provide additional resilience through movement against the spring and in an outward direction with respect to the plates.

In Figure 15 a form is shown corresponding generally with that of Figure 12 but with a single deformed sheet 36 only and without any spacing sheet. In it the outer casing 41 is punched at 45 to assist in holding the deformed plate in position and this can, of course, be done also in Figure 12.

In Figures 13 and 14 non-metallic forms are shown, a wood insert appearing in Figure 13 at 46 and a fiber insert 47 shown in Figure 14. An anchor is shown at 48. i i

It will be evident that the invention may be marketed in the form of blocks containing the resilient inserts or the resilient inserts may be supplied to licensed manufacturers of blocks for insertion by them.

By reference to nailing it is, of course, intended to include any form of fastening by projections fitting into the insertions and retained by engagement with the material of the insertions whether this is effected by nails or otherwise.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become-evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my invention.

7 Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:- V

1. A resilient metal insert comprising a plurality of parallel resilient plates alternately in right angle relation to each other adapted to receive 1 nails in directions at right angles to each other held at the edge of a block so as to present nailing surfaces in adjoining block surfaces at right angles to each other.

2. A nailing insert for a block comprising de- 1" extending resilient projections on the faces of the sheet.

4. A resilient insert for a molded block comprising outer insert casing walls and a resilient filler within the casing walls, the filler comprising a plurality of spaced deformed metal sheets having the deformations extending in opposite directions on the faces of each sheet.

HERMAN E. EICHNER. 

